Thursday, June 28, 2012

I am starting a new class at Walden- Project Management in Education and Training. According to the syllabus, I will learn more about systematic approaches to project management. I will use various project management tools, procedures, and methodologies, and apply them to projects in a real-world education or training environment. I will analyze the interrelated nature of the triple constraints of time, cost, and scope, and their impact on the overall quality of the project. I will post my class assignments here as well.

Friday, June 22, 2012

Distance learning, not unlike any new concept or technology, has taken a bit of time to gain momentum and acceptance. Dr. Siemens (n.d.) offers a glimpse of the timeline when he discusses the adoption of live video calls using Skype (www.skype.com). Five years ago, no one would have believed the claim that one would be able to talk to anyone, anywhere in the world, and see them as one talks. Skype now offers that technology and people are using it to keep in touch with friends and family regularly. In the next five years, I would expect to see distance learning emerge as an accepted way to learn.As the years progress, technology will continue to advance which will only propel distance learning further into the mainstream. As people become more comfortable with technology use such as mobile phones, tablets and video chat, they will see distance learning as a more viable option.

Clearly many misconceptions about distance learning still exist especially around the quality of education and the lack of face-to-face interaction between student and teacher. There is also a distinction in appropriate audiences for distance learning, which centers on age. Distance learning is main stream currently for adult learners because of the ability to learn and manage other life commitments. Adults are also more mature and can navigate learning with little direction; however, distance learning is slower to be adopted with younger students for these reasons. Some states have student populations growing faster than they can build facilities; thus distance education will become more attractive in the coming years (Huett et al., 2008). Public schools and K-12 education should see the biggest change in distance learning practices over the next twenty years but not without some effort to overcome concerns and misconceptions.

As an instructional designer, I can educate people about distance learning and address concerns or misconceptions. The best way that I know how to do this is through example, research, and employing best practice strategies. Research and best practices can show the audience an accurate picture which enables them to make the most sensible choice for themselves (Simonson et al., 2011). I have to stay connected with instructional design trends and continually strive to improve my knowledge and designs that I deliver. Most importantly, I can give back to our field by contributing to blogs and writing articles to share my discoveries.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Converting a face to face class to a distance learning format can be a success if one follows certain pre-planning strategies such as determining the best design that will appropriately convey the learning outcomes, determining the role of the instructor, and devise strategies to encourage students to communicate, delivery method, learning environment, and needed technology. One also must be clear on what distance learning is before beginning the conversion. Distance education is defined as “institution-based, formal education where the learning group is separated, and where interactive telecommunication systems are used to connect the learners, resources and instructors” (Simonson, et al., 2012, p32). With this definition in mind, it is also necessary to avoid dumping all of the face to face course content into the online resources or distance learning plan. The two courses should be similar in that they can have the same learning objectives, but how these objectives are achieved must be re-evaluated for distance education.

﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿Technical and Environment Planning There are several areas of pre-planning that should be address for truly getting started with the conversion. The first critical area to focus on is determining how you want to accomplish your blended learning plan. ﻿

﻿What sections and content of the class will be maintained and delivered online versus using synchronous or live activities. An efficient way to accomplish this is to create a course storyboard that outlines the flow and segments of the course. After you have a clear idea on the storyboard of the course, create a site map that will help you build and link your online course together. With these two guidelines, you have enough information to choose your course hosting tool (Learning management system-LMS) that you will use to create your course shell.

Content

From here, the next area to review is the course content. The instructor has less of an idea of how or what their learners are doing in an online format; thus it is essential that content is decidedly concise and clear, and ﻿that methods are in place for students to connect with instructors or other students (Piskurich, n.d.). Activities and applications are also more effective in conveying content in an online environment so considerable planning should allowed for designing these around the learning objectives (Simonson, et ﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿al., 2012). If the content has not been evaluated against an instructional design model, such as ADDIE, then it is a good practice to step through the model phases while reviewing content. Incorporating distance learning also provides an opportunity to enhance the existing content with available technology. Videos, podcasts, interactive content, discussion boards, blogs and wikis are a few areas to be explored. Lastly, a redesigned syllabus should be created to include links and instructions for any new technology, new content and valuable tips on how to use and succeed in your online course. This can include a site orientation and valuable online learning tips such as time management or online discussion strategies. The role of the instructor and the responsibilities must also be clearly defined. Once the content has been defined, then it can be added to the online course shell.

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Learner
The learner’s role changes slightly in a distance learning environment and these changes should be reviewed. As mentioned before, learners and instructors are physically separated so the student must have access to the course content at anytime, and the course outline, objectives and instructions should be clearly explained. A support system should be established for the learners so they can contact someone for technical or content support. In an online environment, learners are more responsible for their learning. They must be motivated to continue to study and learn on their own. Some ways to ensure that the learner stays motivated is to establish learner-to-learner and learner-to-instructor communication mediums, such as threaded discussions, where they can post comments and ask questions. Additionally, thought design to the application and assignments to ensure that they are challenging and interactive can go a long way.

Instructor
The instructor’s role changes the most in this conversion. You will no longer be delivering the course content, but rather becoming more of a guide or facilitator. Your job will be to redirect, clarify, correct and guide (Simonson, et al. 2012). Feedback and communication becomes extremely beneficial and should be done in a timely manner to keep the course on pace. Insure that you have provided guidelines on how you can be contacted and establish an open line of communication for student support.

Implementation
Once the course is built, it is necessary to have an initial click through or alpha test with some of your colleagues or students. You will not be able to make a perfect conversion the first time through; thus feedback is essential at this phase. Find out what the strong points and the poor points are and expand and improve on those. Learning objectives and outcomes should be effectively evaluated as well, to determine if the scope, sequence and activities conveyed them appropriately. Adopt the strategy of improvement and include feedback opportunities for your students during each course to have input available.

Checklist for Converting to Distance Learning Format This guide has highlighted the most notable aspects of pre-planning and included valuable tips and considerations. Included is a checklist that will help you plan and succeed with your course conversion. Please see the attached PDF for a copy of this information and the aforementioned checklist.

Photo by EvgenDesignsThis is a multi-purpose blog that will focus on Instructional Design and Technology, multimedia tools, and serve as a platform for my graduate school writing and general discoveries. Eventually this blog will tie into my website (firefliesmedia.com) which will feature my coming portfolio and other multimedia work that I have done over the years.

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